Public Statement by the Trustees of Blackburn Cathedral

The Cathedral recognises and fully accepts that there were failures, apologises for them, and has learned important lessons.  In October 2023 The Cathedral Chapter made a statement about the lessons learned from this case and it can be found here.

Since that time the Cathedral has worked and continues to work assiduously to improve its safeguarding culture, policies and procedures to ensure everyone is, and feels, safe.

Regretfully, the Cathedral cannot undo the pain and hurt of the past, and our thoughts are with those survivors whose trauma may now be re-lived as a result of this programme.

The programme gave details about legitimate safeguarding concerns that were raised repeatedly over a twenty-five-year period and highlighted the systemic nature of the institutional failures within the Church of England that prevented Blackburn Cathedral from dealing effectively with the concerns.

There remains work to be done for these institutional hurdles to be overcome.

The programme disclosed that a sum of money was paid to the individual by the Church of England. No Blackburn Cathedral funds were involved in this payment.

Peter Howell-Jones
Dean of Blackburn

Finding support

If you or anyone you are in contact with are affected by this report and want to talk to someone independently, please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.

Alternatively, you may wish to contact the Diocese of Blackburn Safeguarding Team: [email protected] or the Diocesan Safeguarding Team in your area or the National Safeguarding Team at [email protected]